End of the World
by Evil Arrow
Summary: A what-if story. Varesh was successful in freeing Abaddon from his imprisonment, and many things have changed under his rule. A work in progress
1. Chapter 1

**Prologue**

The world has changed much, since the Warmarshal Varesh Ossa was successful in bringing Abaddon from the Realm of Torment, into this world. A inky blackness covers the sky across all the continents of Tyria, Cantha and Elona. Returning with Abaddon from the Realm of Torment, the Lich Lord, who brought the Titans back to the land of Tyria. And Shiro Tagachi, a former Envoy of Grenth, leads an army of Afflicted across Cantha. While Varesh Ossa, and a mysterious Ritualist that appeared from nowhere, controls the Kournan Army and Margonites in Elona.

Many tried and failed to bring down one of Abaddon's Generals, and in the end, they began to bow down before Abaddon. All except a few pockets of resistance, who have swore an oath to the Five Gods: Balthazar, Melandru, Lyssa, Dwayna and Grenth. That they would do whatever it took to destroy Abaddon and his Generals, and return the world to the way it was before Varesh brought Abaddon forth.

Their command post lies within the Eye of the North. Where with help from the smartest minds the Asura's had, is being shielded by the followers of Abaddon. And a path was built into the Eye of the North, leading to the Battledepths. Gates were created within the Battledepths, leading to various points throughout each of the lands, allowing safe passage to each of the lands.

Many great fighters gave their lives in battle, as they fought against the relentless forces Abaddon had at his disposal, In hope of finding a weakness in his armor. Everybody had a weakness, the problem was, Abaddon had hidden his well. But a question did begin to emerge as many tried and failed to destroy Abaddon - does a God have a truly have a weakness?

Admist the destruction caused by Abaddon and his followers, unlikely and new allies have been found. One of them is fighting against Abaddon for his own reasons, a creature by the name of Palawa Joko. Who was defeated by one of Varesh's ancestors many years ago. He would love to get his hands on an Ossa, and get his long awaited revenge. Even within the Kournan Army, new allies could be found. General Morghan, a long time friend and ally of Warmarshal Varesh, switched sides when he found out the truth of what Varesh was planning. But by then it was too late for him to do anything to stop Varesh, and he had no choice but to run. A few members of the Kournan Army who were still loyal to him, followed Morghan wherever he went.

Within the ranks of the Charr, who rejoiced when the Titans returned, a small warband of them have joined forces with the humans. The warband being led by Pyre Fierceshot, do not see the Titans as Gods, like the rest of the Charr. They want to free their race from the oppression of the Charr Shamans. Who have led the Charr for many years. For Pyre and his warband, the Charr have no Gods.

Even alliances which at first seemed they would never happen again, have been reformed. In the land of Cantha, the Kurzicks and Luxons have but aside their differences once again, in an attempt to stop Shiro one final time, and bring about the end of the Afflicted. Both sides do still battle against each other in the field of Alliance Battles, but only for training purposes. Leading them was a man who had crossed the divide once, a ranger by the name of I Evil Arrow I. He had saw the devestation Varesh caused bringing her God back into this world, and fought against the Afflicted and Shiro before. So when the Kurzicks and Luxons joined forces, I Evil Arrow I was there to watch, and was made their leader.

What remains of the Sunspears, who haven't been found and killed in Elona, hide out in a cave on the mainland. The cave is very well hidden, and only anyone who knows about it, will know where to look to find it. Varesh and the Ritualist, have sent many forces to find it, but they have always failed to find it.

Word soon began to spread about the small pockets of resistance, scattered throughout the world. Some began to fight back, joining up with whoever they could and helping them in the battle against Abaddon. With a small beacon of hope that one day, all the destruction that was caused by Abaddon, would be reversed.

But there was also a small worrying fact during Abaddon's conquest of the lands. That nobody wanted to mention, but also couldn't help wonder. Where were the five Gods who imprisoned Abaddon all those years ago? They showed no problems with Abaddon taking over the lands, and by what they could see, the five weren't doing anything to stop Abaddon. Where were they? What had happened to them. Various rumours began to spread about the five Gods. Some are saying that they no longer care about the land they looked after many moons ago. While others believe that before he left the Realm of Torment, Abaddon destroyed them. Leaving him with a free ticket to total domination.

**Chapter One**

"Remind me, why all these gates are necessary again?" asked Gwen as she saw at least another two gates being made. The last time she was in the Battledepths, there were only a few gates. Now the Asuras and any helpers they could get, were busy making more and more gates. They even set up a room just for gates.

"If we want to ensure safe passage from here to lets say the Bone Palace. But someone else is wanting to return ere, we need all these gates up," said Vekk.

"But what about Abaddon and his forces, wont they be able to use the gates?"

Vekk held something in his hand and showed it to Gwen. "Not without one of these crystals. We have modified the gates to ensure that they no longer work without one of these in them. There is enough power for one trip. They put the crystal in the gate, let it power up, take the crystal out and walk through."

Gwen couldn't argue it was a good way of ensuring that Abaddon's forces couldn't use the gate. It also meant safe passage to certain points around the world. One of the gates made a few noises, before activating. A Necromancer came through the active gate, looking around their surroundings as they entered the Battledepths.

"Where did you come from?" Gwen asked the Necromancer.

They were a bit confused by the question, and pointed at the gate. "That thing," they replied.

"I forgot to mention," said Vekk. Our new upgrade gives everyone who uses it the first time some short term memory loss. They'll recover soon enough, the effects are temporary. I give them a few seconds before they remember everything."

"Yea I can feel my memory coming back," said the Necromancer. "We've set the gate up in Majesty's Rest. Rotscale didn't seem keen on the idea at first, but agreed to it in the end." The Necromancer saluted before taking their leave.

"If only Nightmare wasn't busy helping out Palawa Joko, he could have convinced Rotscale it was for the best," said Gwen. "Still, having two sets of allies, with troops that never seem to tire out can only be good for our cause."

"We received word that Nightmare may be returning at the end of the week," said Vekk. "Joko just wants to make sure that no one else within the Desolation tries to usurp him from his throne. And so long as Varesh Ossa still breathes, he says that we can be sure of Palawa Joko's total cooperation. After that? Even he doesn't know."

"I don't know how Nightmare is meant to help out with that, but he seems happy enough doing it." Gwen couldn't help but worry about Nightmare. After the Lich Lord offering him the chance to see his family again, if he joined Abaddon. But Nightmare had made it clear that he had made his choice, by fighting alongside her and everyone else in the resistance. But she would always have this nagging feeling in the back of her mind that he could turn at any moment.

Another gate activated and this time, 7 people and 1 Charr walked through the portal. Gwen was about to ask how their mission went, but remembered what Vekk said. So she waited a few seconds longer than normal. From the way that they looked, they had been through hell during their mission.

"So how did the mission go?" Gwen asked.

The leader of the group, took a few deep breaths. "The Great Destroyer, is destroyed," he said.

Gwen nodded. "Go and get some rest, you deserve it after what you have done." She walked the group go past, and felt a familiar hatred rise in her as the Charr walked past. "Commander, tell everyone within the Eye of the North to take the rest of the day off."

"Ma'am?" the Commander asked.

"That eight who just walked past you, just defeated the Great Destroyer. I think that deserves a bit of time off dont you? Not everyday we deal a blow to Abaddon, even if it is just a small one." The Commander nodded and left Vekk and Gwen alone again.

"Your worrying about him aren't you?" asked Vekk.

"About who?" asked Gwen, trying to pretend she didn't know what Vekk meant.

"I Evil Arrow I," said Vekk. "Everyone here nows you have a soft spot for him. We will find him, Gwen." Vekk tried to comfort Gwen.

Gwen couldn't hide her feelings anymore. "I just hope that he is okay. We haven't heard from him since he set of to the Harvest Temple to find the dragon Kuunavang."

"Go and get some rest," said Vekk. "You have been up for the past two days. Even the greatest warrior, needs to get some sleep."

"You promise to wake me if we hear word from him?" she asked Vekk.

"If he comes through one of these gates, I'll take him to you personally," he assured her.

She knelt down and gave the Asura a hug. "Thank you." She left Vekk alone in the Battledepths. All the while she wondered just where I Evil Arrow I was, and what he was doing. She heard the familiar noise of G.O.L.E.M.s activating, but didn't turn around to see what Vekk was doing with them.

As soon as she entered her room, she could feel all the energy being drained from her. She fell onto her bed, and was asleep within seconds of her head hitting the pillow. For a moment, all her cares in the world, were gone. How she wished that this moment would last forever. But that day wouldn't come until Abaddon was gone.

"Warmarshal, we have just recieved word that the Great Destroyer is no more," said the guard kneeling before Warmarshal Varesh. "It is unclear if this was the work of the Dwarves, or one of the pockets of resistance."

Varesh thanked the guard, and let the guard continue on his duties. Within the fortress of Gandara, lay one of her means of talking to her master, Lord Abaddon. She knelt before the shrine, and awaited the appearance of him. Flames shot up from the shrine, Varesh could feel the heat coming from the flames, until they calmed a little, and within them, a portrait of Abaddon appeared before her.

"My Lord Abaddon," she said rising from her kneeling position. "As I am sure you are aware, the Great Destroyer has been killed."

"I know, Varesh," she could feel his voice enter her mind. "I could sense it's death. Who was it that killed it?"

"That is unknown my Lord. All that we can tell is it was either the resistance fighting against you, or the work of the Dwarves," said Varesh. "If I might suggest: send some Margonites, find out what transpired in it's lair."

"A good suggestion, but no. I'll order the Lich Lord to take care of it, his way."

"Understood my Lord," the flames on the shrine soon died out.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

Though it had been a month to the day that he and several people that he trusted, set off to the Harvest Temple to find out the fate of Kuunavang, it had felt much longer for I Evil Arrow I. Especialy with the groups of Afflicted patrolling; they were Shiro's eyes and ears, and the same applied for what Shiro was for Abaddon in Cantha. They were lucky with the fact that they didn't face too many of them, anymore and I Evil Arrow I couldn't help but wonder what would happen if just one Afflicted managed to escape the battle and tell their master. It was something that didn't bear thinking about.

Many had questioned I Evil Arrow I for this plan of his. They were fine with the plan, but they weren't too keen on the fact he was the one that was leading the group. Since he was the one that the Kurzicks and Luxons now followed. He had managed to unite both of the warring factions when Shiro returned the first time, and when Shiro returned with a little help from Abaddon, both of the factions agreed to unite if only I Evil Arrow I would agree to be the one that led them. He wasn't too keen on the idea at first, but he eventually agreed.

He made sure that the Alliance Battles were kept going, it was one way for both sides to get some battle practice. And the areas the Alliance Battles took place were one of the few areas that Shiro had yet to find. But but they knew he would eventually, so they would do as much as they humanly could to prevent it for as long as they could.

His thoughts soon went back to the task at hand, he looked down at his Dune Lizard, who had been by his side since the moment he charmed her many years ago. True he could have had any animal he wished as a pet, he knew someone who had a Snow Wolf, but for him, his Dune Lizard was what he was looking for.

As they left the outskirts of the Kurzicks Forest, and set foot onto the Jade Sea for what could be the final time, I Evil Arrow I fought the urge to look up into the sky, since all there was to see was an inky blackness covering the entire sky. With no chance of anything penetrating it. It had been like that since Abaddon and his cronies returned, and the only way it would return tothe way it was, was by killing Abaddon.

"We'll rest here for an hour," he shouted out. He could sense a feeling of tiredness coming from the group. He had made sure to scout the land for any signs of enemies before giving the order. Everyone immediately sat down the moment he gave the word to do so. He stayed standing up, feeling a bit of ambivlience as he looked around: he wanted to see some Afflicted to slay to up the groups morale, but he also didn't want to see any for fear they would run and tell Shiro where they are. That would put the whole plan to pieces.

"You ok?" a voice asked behind him. He looked round and saw it was Danika zu Heltzer. Since her father died, she was the one who took his place as leader of the Kurzicks, now she followed I Evil Arrow I. She had did a good job keeping the groups injuries from getting any worse, but they also weren't getting any better. They needed someone who had more experience at dealing with the sorts of wounds they had: cuts and scars from battles with the Afflicted that no matter how much they tried, just weren't healing. The other Monk they had, wasn't having much luck either healing the wounds.

He nodded. "I'm ok, just a bit worried about the groups morale, and if Shiro knows we are heading to the Harvest Temple. And he is just standing there waiting for us." He took a long drawn out drink from his water pouch before offering it to Danika, who politely refused it.

"We haven't left any Afflicted we have met alive," Danika reminded him. "So any chance of Shiro knowing could be slim."

He looked Danika in the eyes. "But what about the Afflicted we haven't seen? That is what is bothering me the most. It's been over a week since we last saw one. And who is to say that Shiro hasn't decided to teach them some new tricks? He was the Emperor's Personal Bodyguard at one point, remember? He didn't get to that status without knowing a few things."

He left Danika alone while he checked on the ones that had been left scarred during attacks by the Afflicted. He did wish that Mhenlo had joined them on this journey, but he was needed somewhere else.

"How you holding up?" He asked the Luxon.

"I've been better," the Luxon said, making a fist with his hand a few times, just to be sure he still had life in it. "The scar hasn't been as painful over the past few days."

I Evil Arrow I smiled. "Hopefully that means that it's healing at last." He offered some water to the Luxon, who gladly accepted it.

Once the hour was up, they continued on their journey. Making sure that they left no trace or hint that they were ever there. I Evil Arrow I kept one eye on the Luxon with the scar on his arm. He had this feeling that something was up with him, but he couldn't just quite put his finger onto what it was. He gestured over to another of the group, and they picked up their pace to walk beside I Evil Arrow I.

"Keep an eye on him would you," he whispered. "I've got this feeling in my gut that something is up with him." They nodded and returned to their place in the group. A couple of minutes went by, and the top of the Harvest Temple soon came into view. I Evil Arrow I had a go, but he couldn't see anything within the Temple from this distance.

"Scan the area around the Temple for anything Shiro might have in store for us. Be it Afflicted, Shiro'ken or even just a Creeping Carp. I want to know!" I Evil Arrow I told the group. All their scouting, and all they could see was several Creeping Carp. So they continued on their journey to the Unwaking Waters

"You do realise that we could be walking into a trap?" Danika asked I Evil Arrow I.

He nodded. "The thought had ocurred to me."

"Then why are we continuing on? We should turn back now so we can get some medical attention for those two."

He looked at Danika for a second before turning to face the group. "Who here wants to turn back?" he asked the group. No one said a word as they looked at each other. "Thats what I thought," he said before looking at Danika one more time. "So long as I know they want to continue on, then so will I."

Danika was about to say something, but she was stopped by a groaning coming from one of the group. It was coming from the Luxon with the scar on his arm. He was making inhuman noises and holding onto his arm, it looked as if he was in great pain. I Evil Arrow I looked at everyone else, he didn't even have to say a word and they got their weapons ready.

"What are you doing?" Danika asked. I Evil Arrow I ignored her.

"Give us the word, and we will end your suffering right here," I Evil Arrow I told the Luxon.

The Luxon looked down at the ground, he stopped convulsing and he looked at I Evil Arrow I. Only it was no longer the Luxon he knew, he wore the face of someone who was completly mad. He looked at the group through souless eyes.

"Praise to Lord Abaddon and my Master Shiro," the voice coming out of the Luxon said. "Sooner or later, Abaddon will crush your little rebellion, but you will not live long enough to see it." The Luxon looked up into the sky and screamed, if the Afflicted didn't know where they were, they were just given a huge clue. The scream coming from the Luxon was cut short as one of the Kurzicks drew their axe and in one swift move, removed the head of the Luxon. The body fell to the ground, while the head rolled off somewhere.

"Start running and don't look back," said I Evil Arrow I, who started running the moment he finished the sentence. Everyone else soon followed.

"What happened there?" Danika asked I Evil Arrow I.

"He was turning into an Afflicted," he said, not bothering to look at Danika.

"How long have you known?" she asked.

"I had a feeling," said I Evil Arrow I. A scout I sent out a few weeks back told me about what happened to some of those scarred in battle with the Afflicted."

"Some?"

"The Afflicted seem to choose who they want to infect. Even if you are scarred in battle, it doesn't meant that you will become one of them. The only way of knowing if someone is turning is how you saw back then."

"You knew about this and you didn't tell me?!" Danika couldn't believe that he withheld that information from her,

"I told those who are facing the Afflicted on a daily basis. And last I checked, you're not on that list."

They soon set foot onto the area surrounding the Harvest Temple, the Creeping Carp spotted them and decided to go after them. The Rangers who were in the group began firing arrows at them, not stopping to aim. It was merely to keep them at bay while they went past them. The sounds of Afflicted began to fill the air, no one dared turned around to see just how many there were, and no one even thought about stating that they would have to fight through them to leave the Harvest Temple.

"Start setting traps," I Evil Arrow I told three of the Rangers in the group as they reached the stairs to the Harvest Temple. The rest of the group ran up the stairs. "Only stop setting traps when the Afflicted or whatever Shiro is throwing at us gets to close for comfort." he told the 3 who would be staying behind before running up the stairs himself."

I Evil Arrow I reached the top of the temple, it had been a long time since he set foot within the temple. It was once kept in great condition by whichever alliance of guilds held it at the time. If you looked at it from the outside, it would look like nothing was wrong with it - inside it was a different story. The were signs of a battle all around it, blood splattered against the walls, ceiling and floor, the stench of rotting corspes filled the air, and none of them resembled anything human. There was no sign of the dragon Kuunavang, and the thought of the corpses being Kuunavang had begun to creep into I Evil Arrow I's mind.

"Look at this," said Danika. A peice of paper was pinned to the wall, held in place by a dagger. The paper bore the mark of the Betrayer. "Shiro was here."

Thanks for stating the obvious, I Evil Arrow I thought to himself. He tore the paper from the dagger's grasp and looked at the back of it. There was some more writing, I Evil Arrow I began reading it out.

"Welcome to your final resting place. Thats all it says," said I Evil Arrow I.

"What does he mean by that?" asked one of the Luxons as the 3 rangers who set traps at the bottom of the stairs appeared.

"That is what he means." One of them said as they pointed outside the Harvest Temple. What looked to be a sea of Afflicted came from all around. Within minutes the Harvest Temple would be surrounded by them, and no doubt they would probably start climbing the stairs.

I Evil Arrow I looked at everyone. No words needed to be said, they knew that this could be the end of the line for them. But one thing was certain: they weren't going to go down without a fight.

"Prepare yourselves, for what could be our final battle!" he shouted as he prepared his bow and aimed at any Afflicted that took his fancy. Time seemed to slow down as he picked his target, waiting a second before releasing the arrow.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three**

"Burn the corpses, make sure that nothing remains of them," General Morghan ordered his troops. They had just finished doing a small patrol of the area surrounding the Sunspear's Sanctuary, and they were unfortunate enough to meet up with a group of Margonites. Morghan gave the order to attack as soon as they saw them, he didn't want to risk leading them back to where the Sanctuary was, especially after they took him in even after all he had done to them. Now he was just a man, but those still loyal to him, still as him as a General in their eyes.

When the last of the corpses were burned enough for his liking, and he felt that the Torment equivalent of scavengers would deal with what remained of them, Morghan gave the order for him and his troops to return to the Sanctuary.

"So, how did things go?" Dunkoro asked Morghan.

Morghan gave the order for his troops to take some R & R before answering Dunkoro. "We had a run in with a group of Margonites, their corpses have been taken care of," answered Morghan. He saw a Ritualist sitting cross-legged with his arms laying either side of him. "What is he doing?"

"He wants to see if he can reach a state of meditation and talk to the spirits on their own terms. To see if they can tell him anything of the Ritualist that Abaddon trusts so much." explained Dunkoro.

No one knew where this Ritualist that Abaddon trusted so much came from. All anyone knows is that they appeared the moment Abaddon gave the order for the Undead Lich, Shiro Tagachi and Warmarshal Varesh, to take control of different sets of his followers. With the Ritualist helping to take charge of the Margonites.

"Has he had much luck?" Morghan asked as he looked at the Ritualist still sitting cross-legged.

Dunkoro shook his head. "He hasn't said a single word since he took that position. And that was not long after you left to go on patrol."

Morghan looked at Dunkoro. "Is he aware of what is going on around him?"

"To be honest, I don't know. We have tried talking to him a few times, but he doesn't answer. If he can hear us then he isn't letting on."

As if he heard them talking, the Ritualist began to move, slowly at first, so he could get his bearings. He waited a few more seconds before finally standing upright.

"What news?" Dunkoro asked the Ritualist. "Are they telling you anything?"

The Ritualist shook his head. "They aren't speaking," he answered. "They are just like us, they have no clue as to where he came from. They say that he just appeared around the time Abaddon took over this world.

"How is it possible for someone to just appear?!" Morghan asked out loud. "Can't you force them to talk or something?" he asked the Ritualist.

Dunkoro tried to calm Morghan down. "Spirits Of Evil can only do what he can to ask the spirits to help him."

"I can twist their arm only so much, Morghan," said Spirits. "It's make no difference, they are in the dark about Abaddon's Ritualist just as much as you or I."

"So that's it?! All that time you spent talking to them, and they give you nothing?" Morghan was getting in the Ritualist's face.

Spirits was tempted to take off his head piece and show Morghan his eyes, but he would save that for another time. He slowly backed away from Morghan. "They did suggest one thing we could try."

"What did they suggest?" asked Dunkoro. He looked at Morghan, shooting him a look as if to say calm down.

"We capture a Margonite," answered Spirits Of Evil.

"Capture a Margonite?" repeated Dunkoro. "How is that supposed to help us?"

"We capture a Margonite, and then we get it to tell us the name of the Ritualist Abaddon, trusts so much," explained Spirits. "And we threaten it with torture, and keep torturing it until it gives us a name."

"And how do you plan to capture one of them?" Morghan had been listening intently to the idea, and he was interested as to how they would make it work.

"We call upon the Order Of Whispers. From what legends I have heard of them, they have managed to capture a Titan once before. If they can do that, then capturing a Margonite should be right up their street."

Morghan thought about what was being said, before looking at Dunkoro. "What do you think?" he asked the Monk.

"It is worth a try Morghan," he answered.

"I'm not too crazy on this idea, but I shall go with the flow."

Dunkoro called over one of the scouts. "Send a message to the Order Of Whispers. Tell them we wish to speak with Master Of Whispers." The scout nodded and headed to where the Gate was within the Sanctuary.

A hour went past before they heard activity coming from the gate. The scout was the fist to appear, being followed by Master Of Whispers, and two others who were part of the Order.

"It is good to see you again," Spirits said to Master Of Whispers.

"Your scout told me you wished to meet with me, but wasn't forthcoming with the details," said Master Of Whispers.

"We would like the Order Of Whispers to capture a Margonite," Spirits told the Necromancer. "And you will be paid well for your efforts, if you manage it that is."

Master Of Whispers stared at Spirits for a moment before answering. "Why would you want something like that done?"

"We plan to interrogate one, see if we can find out the name of Abaddon's Ritualist from it," Dunkoro told him. "Spirits told us that the Order, if the legends are true, were to have captured a Titan once. So a Margonite should be no problem for you."

The Master turned his back and talked to his followers, in hushed tones. A few minutes went by before they gave their answer. "We will help you capture one," said the Master. "Just lead us to a group of them, and we shall do the rest."

A few days went by as they waited for a group Margonites to appear, General Morghan had been talking to one of the troops who was still loyal to him in Varesh's ranks, and told him that a group would be patrolling near the Sanctuary within the next week, all it was now was a case of waiting for the group to appear.

A scout had been deployed to see if they could spot any Margonites. On the fourth day of waiting, they said they spotted a group of Margonites, heading their way.

"Stay out of their line of sight, and don't move until we tell you too," said the Master Of Whispers to the Sunspears that were ordered to help out. When the Margonites where in range, the Order Of Whispers made their move.

They focused their attacks on one Margonite, and didn't let up until it was dead, before moving onto the next one. The Master gave the word for the Sunspears to help out a couple of seconds after the first Margonite was down, and they all began focusing their attacks on the same one. The Cleric the Margonites had with them tried their best to heal their team, but to avail, it was soon becoming obvious to it, that he was going to be the last Margonite standing.

When the Cleric was the final Margonite left, the Order Of Whispers stopped attacking, and began enchanting something, in a language that only they seemed to know. The Cleric could feel itself getting drowsy, it's limbs getting heavier. It was becoming harder and harder for it to move. It was forced onto it's knees by the incantations of the Order. Within a few more seconds, things went black.

The Cleric opened their eyes, not sure just how much time had passed, or where they were. It didn't recognise the caves, and saw no other Margonites to speak of, just humans and centaurs. The Cleric tried to move his limbs, but could only move them a few inches. He looked around and saw that it's arms where chained.

"I wouldn't try breaking those chains if I were you," said one of the humans. "The have been enchanted with magic, and the only way they will break is to say the correct words."

"Tell us what we what to know, and we will break the bonds that keep you trapped," said another one of the humans.

"Seeing as you maybe here for sometime, why don't we get to know each other. I'm Spirits Of Evil. I take it you already know about General Morghan, and the Master Of Whispers."

"General Morghan," said the Cleric. "He who followed Varesh for so long, now fights alongside her enemies."

"What is your name?" Morghan asked the Cleric. The Cleric stayed silent. "Who do you work for?"

"I serve Lord Abaddon." the Cleric answered.

"And you also serve Varesh, but that is not what we want to know. What is the name of the Ritualist that follows Abaddon?" Spirits asked. Again the Cleric stayed silent. Spirits looked at the Master Of Whispers. "Do what you have to do to make him talk."

"Abaddon will save me," said the Cleric.

Spirits Of Evil got up close to the Margonite, and took off his headpiece, showing the Margonite that he was completely blind. "I hope for your sake, you are right. When you are ready to tell us the name of the Ritualist that follows Abaddon, only then will we free you from your torture. And that will be the day that you die, and you can be with Abaddon in the Realm of Torment once more." Spirits replaced his headpiece and walked away from the Margonite, Morghan followed leaving the Master Of Whispers alone with the Cleric.

"You think the Margonite will talk?" Morghan asked Spirits.

"It might take a few days, maybe a few weeks. But I am sure he will talk." said Spirits. Screams soon echoed throughout the Sanctuary. The interrogation had begun.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four**

The sounds of a gate activating echoed throughout the Battledepths. Vekk looked around to see if Gwen was anywhere nearby, just in case whoever coming through the gate was I Evil Arrow I. A figure came from the gate, and it was a Necromancer. The Necromancer looked around the new surroundings, before shivering a little.

"Forgot how cold this place can be," said the Necromancer. "Especially when you come from somewhere like the Desolation."

"It is good to see you safely return Nightmare," said Vekk. "Did everything go smoothly with Palawa Joko?"

"As smooth as they could be," answered Nightmare. "You would think he is trying to get his troops to get blood from a stone, he is working them that hard. I would have said he is working them to death, but they already are dead."

"And what about the other reason you were there for?" asked Vekk. "Do you think we can trust him to continue help us after Varesh is dead?"

"I trust him as far as I can throw him," said Nightmare. "I don't know how far I can throw him, so I don't know how much we can trust him. He is pretty adamant that he wants to be the one that scores the killing blow against Varesh. I told him that if he thinks we are going to keep Varesh alive just so he can be the one that kills her, then he's got another thing coming." Nightmare shivered again, his body still hadn't got used to the change in temperature. "How have things been this end?"

"We have still yet to hear back from I Evil Arrow I. And some news from the Sunspear Sanctuary: they captured a Margonite and are torturing it until it gives them the name of Abaddon's Ritualist," said Vekk. "I do have some good news, the Great Destroyer is dead."

Nightmare didn't seem too bothered about the Great Destroyer. "What about the Margonite? I mean, he could just tell them any old name if he wanted to."

"Oola has been kind enough to send them a modified G.O.L.E.M.," Vekk told Nightmare. "She has made a few adjustments that allow the G.O.L.E.M. to know if someone is lying or not. It has been tested a few times, she is confident that it will work perfectly."

Gotta love that Asuran pride in everything they do, Nightmare thought to himself.

"Well, if you will excuse me Vekk, I am off to take a well deserved rest." Nightmare gave Vekk a salute before walking off. He nodded to Gwen as he walked past her.

"Still no sign of I Evil Arrow I?" she asked Vekk.

Vekk shook his head. "Only person to come through the gate since you left is Nightmare Venom. No one else has yet to appear."

Gwen let out a sigh. "How have things been getting on down here then?" she asked.

"We have managed to get another two gates up and running," said Vekk. "Oola has decided to take the G.O.L.E.M.s offline for a while. Give the crystals a chance to recharge."

Gwen was about to say something, but was interrupted by the sounds of a gate activating. Gwen prayed that it would be I Evil Arrow I that came through the gate. When the gate was fully powered, a few more seconds went past before two figures came through the gate. One was a dune lizard, who kept looking at the other figure. Gwen knew straight away who it was, but they were in pretty bad shape by the looks of things, he slowly limped through the gate, made his way down the stairs, before falling to the ground.

"Get him a Monk, someone. Quick!" shouted Gwen at anyone in earshot.

"How is he doing?" Gwen asked Ogden. I Evil Arrow I was laid up in bed, they had tried to take Awa away from her master, but she refused to leave his side.

"He has taken a lot of injuries," said Ogden. "If I was to guess, I would say he had participated in a very bloody battle. If this is how it looks to have survived it, I would hate to see what anyone who lost it looks like."

"How long do you think it will be till he wakes up?" asked Gwen.

Ogden shook his head. "I don't know. Could be anytime that he wakes up. But I do suggest that he gets as much sleep as he can. He needs to get his strength back up."

A few groans came from I Evil Arrow I, before he opened his eyes.

"Welcome back to the world of the living," said Ogden. "Could you see if you can still move your arms and legs for me?"

"I managed to walk through the gate, Ogden. Does that not tell you enough?" said I Evil Arrow I, it took him some effort to do so.

"What happened to you?" Gwen asked I Evil Arrow I.

He looked at Gwen. "Kuunavang wasn't there," said I Evil Arrow I. "Shiro got to her a long time ago. When we go to the Harvest Temple, there were signs of a battle, nothing there resembled anything human. After we got there, Afflicted covered the area around the Temple. We had no choice but to fight."

"How many of you survived?"

"Out of the 16 of us that went, only 5 of us made it back in one piece," said I Evil Arrow I. "And even then the other four came back in the same sort of shape I was when came back here."

"Why didn't you stay with them, they could have treated your injuries there?"

I Evil Arrow I tried to sit up, but when he realised he didn't have the strength to do so, he lied back down," someone needed to inform you lot what happened at the temple, I volunteered to do so."

"GWEN, GWEN!" shouted one of the Vanguard. Gwen looked around and saw the face of someone truly scared. "We have just received word from the Central Transfer Chamber that the Undead Lich and several Titans have appeared in the cavern the Great Destroyer was in."

"We need to evacuate the Transfer Chamber now," said Ogden.

"No," said Gwen. "The Lich has given us an opportunity that we can't ignore."

"What do you mean?" asked Ogden.

"I'm saying: we can kill the Undead Lich within the day."


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter Five**

"Ok, going by what Gwen has told me about the Central Transfer Chamber," said Nightmare as he pointed at the map laid out on the table. So long as it looks like we are at a disadvantage, we actually have the advantage."

"It's all down to the entrance to the cave where the Great Destroyer resided," explained Gwen. "That is the only place that hasn't been touched by the lava. We can stay there while the Undead Lich sends whatever he wants at us. In that area, numbers count for nothing."

"Well, not in our case, we can easily fit eight into that area maybe more, while judging by the size of a Titan, they can only go in one, maybe two at a time," Nightmare added.

"Wait a minute," said one of the Vanguard soldiers. "How are we meant to lure them into that area? I don't see the Titans lining up to be killed."

"Though I hate to say it, this is where Pyre Fierceshot comes in," said Gwen. "He and his warband have been itching to get their claws into their former "Gods". And what better way to use the rage they have, then use it against the Titans."

"My warband will lure the Titans to the group that we will be joining into the battle," said Pyre. Gwen wasn't comfortable with the idea of the Charr joining them, but Nightmare managed to get her to finally admit defeat and allow Pyre and his warband to join them.

"Our theory is that if we kill the Undead Lich, then we can pick off the Titans the same way the dwarves are doing with the Destroyers: kill the head and the body is lifeless," said Nightmare. He had tried to think of a way to describe what they were hoping to do, and that was the best way he could come up with.

"We leave in ten minutes. Be ready by then, or don't bother coming at all." said Gwen. That gave her just enough time to see how I Evil Arrow I was doing.

Ogden had still yet to leave his side, he was in the middle of a healing spell when Gwen walked in. If Ogden had noticed her, then he didn't bother to acknowledge her. I Evil Arrow I was asleep. Gwen bent down to his ear to whisper something.

"Wish me luck in what I am about to do," she whispered into his ear. With that she left Ogden in peace to continue his healing.

The heat hit them as soon as the entered the cave. They weren't sure if the Undead Lich had heard their arrival, they waited a minute or two before signalling to Pyre and his warband to do some luring. Pyre nodded to his warband and they headed as far as they dared without setting foot onto the lava. From what they could see, there was 4 Armageddon Lords, and of course the Undead Lich.

"Ah," said the Undead Lich. "Have some of the Charr saw the path once more and wish to worship their true Gods?"

Pyre smiled. "They are no Gods of ours," he said. "The Charr have no Gods!" Pyre shot out a arrow at the nearest Armageddon Lord. The Armageddon Lord took the bait and went after the Charr warband. The Undead Lich yelled something at the Armageddon Lord, but it wasn't listening, it had a one track mind, and right now it's target was the warband.

"Attack!" shouted Nightmare as he began casting curse after curse onto the Armageddon Lord. He didn't know how long it would be before the next Armageddon Lord appeared, so he wanted to get this one down and out a.s.a.p.

"When we take it down to it's final stage, everyone attack only one of the Hand or Fist of the Titans!" shouted Gwen over the onslaught. The Armageddon Lord was already down to a Risen Ashen Hulk when she finished shouting. It wouldn't be long before it hit the final stage.

"Another Titan has appeared!" someone shouted over the sounds of battle.

"Keep on this one until it is well and truly dead!" Nightmare shouted back.

The Titan they were attacking reached it's final stage: two smaller, but by no means less powerful Titans appeared from the ashes of the fallen Risen Ashen Hulk. Pyre kept a close eye on the Armageddon Lord, and did his best to interrupt it as much as he could. He was lucky enough to manage a few interrupts, but not enough to keep it from doing some damage. He could see the humans were nearly through the final form of the first Titan, so he gave the order to his warband to attack the same target as him. He could see Gwen shooting him a look, but he didn't care. He had waited a long time to fight against the Titans, and he wasn't going to waste it. And he wanted his warband to enjoy it as well.

The dispatched the next Armageddon Lord with the same ruthless tenacity. They waited for the next one to appear, they were on a roll, and none of them wanted to waste it. A few of them almost jumped when they saw the final two Armageddon Lords appear together, clearly the Lich Lord was worried if he used that tactic.

"Everyone, attack the nearest one first, never mind the other one. Pretend it doesn't exist!" shouted Gwen.

Going to be a bit hard, not hard to miss something as big as that, Nightmare thought to himself. He would have to be a bit more cagey with his spell casting now. He didn't want any of his curses to hurt the other Titan… yet. He laid off his stronger curses, in favour of the ones that weren't as strong, but still packed one hell of a punch. He chose to go for the curses that weakened his target, at least if the other Titan got hexed with it, it's attacks wouldn't be as strong.

"Keep it up!" Gwen shouted. She knew they were on the verge of winning this battle, but the battle against the Undead Lich had still to come. And the only one in this group who had any knowledge of how strong the Undead Lich was, was Nightmare Venom, the Necromancer. She wondered if she could trust him not to rejoin the Undead Lich and attack them. As the final Titan entered it's last stage, she knew she was about to get her answer.

"We have killed everyone you have thrown at us!" shouted Pyre. "Surrender now, and we will make your death quick and painless."

"You do realise that he isn't going to surrender?" Nightmare whispered.

Pyre didn't answer, he kept his entire body and mind focused on the one area where the Titans came from. Soon the Undead Lich appeared, and he didn't seem all that shocked when he saw the group that Pyre and his warband were with.

"The offer still stands," said Pyre. "Surrender and your death will be quick and painless, you have my word."

The Undead Lich didn't say a thing, he stood there staring at the group of Charr and Humans. For a minute, it was a stand off, who would make the first move? The Undead Lich was the first, he began saying something, which Nightmare knew somehow, was a spell. He gave the order to attack the Undead Lich. Shouting at Pyre to do whatever it took to interrupt him, they both knew it would be difficult, but the best Pyre could do was try.

At first the fight itself was evenly matched, but without the need of killing the Undead Lich on a Bloodstone, there was nothing stopping any of those attacking the Undead Lich at their full strength. The battle slowly went in their favour, but rather than try and run away, the Undead Lich stayed where he was.

The Undead Lich was soon down to one knee, he was exhausted. He delved into his reserve tanks as much as he could, but they were almost depleted. Try as he might, he couldn't score a hit needed to weaken his attackers.

"Pyre," said the girl. "I think we should let you and the warband score the final hit against him."

The Charr known as Pyre looked at the girl, and smiled. "It will be our pleasure." The Undead Lich's sight was soon covered by a mass of fur, and then darkness.

Gwen was the first to enter the Eye of the North, their was a huge crowd of Humans, Dwarves, Norn, Charr and even Asura. All waiting for wait Gwen had to say.

"Thanks to help from Pyre and his warband, the Undead Lich is dead." said Gwen. A huge cheer came from out of nowhere. They knew they had just scored a much needed victory against Abaddon and his followers.

"Tonight, we forget about Abaddon, for one night we are going to party and drink. To hell with the consequences!" Nightmare managed to shout over the cheers.

"I take it you have heard the news? Varesh asked Shiro as he entered Gandara.

"Why do you think I am here?" Shiro answered back.

Varesh didn't bother replying to Shiro, she made her way over to the alter and said a prayer to Abaddon. A portrait of him soon appeared within the flames.

"My Lord, as I am sure you are aware, the Undead Lich has been killed," said Varesh.

"I know this already," said Abaddon. "It is of no matter."

"My Lord?" asked Varesh.

"The Undead Lich served his purpose. His apprentice shall take over controlling the Titans."

"Apprentice?" Shiro asked.

"I decided to keep him a secret from both you and Varesh when the Undead Lich showed him to me. He was one of the few that embraced my power when he was touched by it. He is one that I see great power in," explained Abaddon. "I have kept him within the Realm of Torment so he could perfect his power until the time was right, and that time is now."

A portal appeared beside the shrine, after a few seconds, the outline of a figure appeared in the portal. The figure stepped outside the portal, and knelt before the shrine before rising and looking at both Shiro and Varesh. The portal disappeared as quick as it appeared. Judging by what was being worn, he was an Elementalist.

"My name is I Thunderstorm I," he said. "Praise be to Lord Abaddon."

X Authors Note X: I don't normally say this but this was my favourite chapter to do so far. When I thought up the ending for this chapter, I thought it was a great idea, and something you don't see coming.

Also, the characters that I am using: Nightmare Venom, Spirits Of Evil, I Evil Arrow I and I Thunderstorm I. They are the names of my characters in Guild Wars. So if you ever see me online there, feel free to drop me a pm.

I hope you are enjoying the story so far, because I am having a lot of fun writing it.


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